Welcome

Welcome Miami Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship!

Dear MVUUF Members and Friends,

#OMSL! Oh My Spirit of Life, I am so happy you are here!

I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to be your called minister! I will now try to downshift my enthusiasm to a sustainable level so that you don't feel overwhelmed by my exclamation points while you read the rest of my letter, hehe.

Since actively pursuing my ministerial call over the last 6 years, I have loved every position that I have held: director of religious education, teacher for incarcerated women, hospital chaplain, nonprofit leader, and parish minister. However, during this time, parish ministry has captured my heart and my imagination, unwilling to let go.

I saw the UUA Ministerial Fellowshiping Committee (MFC) December 1, 2017 and was cleared for preliminary fellowship. I graduated from Meadville Lombard Theological School May 20, 2018 with a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Leadership Studies. I was ordained into the Unitarian Universalist ministry June 9, 2018 by my intern congregation, Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation.

When I imagined my future congregation, I had no idea what size it would be, what it would look like, or where it would be located. The only thing I knew for certain was the spirit I sought in the congregation members and staff. I was looking for people willing to commit to authenticity, the hard and often messy work of spiritual transformation, and the practices of humility, forgiveness, and humor. I found this spirit in Miami Valley's search committee and knew instantly that they were my people. I was ecstatic when I found that the feeling was mutual! (Sorry about the exclamation point-- I just couldn't hold my excitement in any longer, hehe.)

I believe we all have important ministries to share with the world. My job as your minister is to create an environment where all of them can thrive individually and create something magical together, magic that can transform each of us and our greater world.

I can't wait to meet each and every one of you-- I am excited to see how love will transform us!

With MUCH gratitude,
Kellie

We show hospitality to strangers
not merely because they need it,
but because we need it too.
The stranger at the door
is the living symbol and memory
that we are all strangers here.
This is not our house,
our table, our food, our lodging;

this is God's house
and table and food and lodging.
We were pilgrims and wanderers,
aliens and strangers,
even enemies of God,
but we, too,
were welcomed into this place.
Tom Long, homiletics professor

Welcome Miami Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship!

We show hospitality to strangers not merely because they need it, but because we need it too. The stranger at the door is the living symbol and memorythat we are all strangers here.This is not our house,our table, our food, our lodging;

​this is God's houseand table and food and lodging.We were pilgrims and wanderers,aliens and strangers,even enemies of God,but we, too,​were welcomed into this place.Tom Long, homiletics professor

We show hospitality to strangers
not merely because they need it,
but because we need it too.
The stranger at the door
is the living symbol and memory
that we are all strangers here.
This is not our house,
our table, our food, our lodging;

this is God's house
and table and food and lodging.
We were pilgrims and wanderers,
aliens and strangers,
even enemies of God,
but we, too,
were welcomed into this place.
Tom Long, homiletics professor